


The Wrong House

by Write_Eat_Sleep_Repeat



Series: OC Inserts [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 2nd chapter: It's still pretty bad, 3rd Chapter: Eh, 4th chapter still sucks, Apart from crippling depression, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Developing Friendships, F/M, Hufflepuff, I should give up while I'm ahead, I'm not bothering to tag any OCs, Inter-House Unity, It's looking up, It's not really that good, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, POV Original Character, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Hatred, Someone's gonna get a bollocking, That's actually a tag and nothing hurts, This will be really hard to find in tags won't it?, Very British Swearwords, Wizard Angst, imagine hating Hogwarts, sorry - Freeform, very sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-04-07 00:19:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4242255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Write_Eat_Sleep_Repeat/pseuds/Write_Eat_Sleep_Repeat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>1st September, 1991: Harry Potter gets sorted into Gryffindor on his first day in Hogwarts.</p><p>We know his story, we know what he does to change the wizarding world. So let's focus on some others instead, some people who have little-to-no effect on what BS Harry Potter and crew get up to. Twins Lucina and Kmillen Carlton; not special, not very interesting, just magical and trying to get through Hogwarts alive.</p><p>((I have a few ideas for the general direction of the story and the endgame ships, but if you want to see anything then feel free to drop a comment and I will consider it))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally on FF.net and really wasn't that good so I'm redoing it and putting it here.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing our characters: Lucina and Kmillen Carlton.

_23:47 Friday, July 17th, 1980._

A cry rang out through the hospital ward as a baby boy came into the world. This boy, with his tiny fists flying about to hit the air and his lungs working to full capacity to check how loud he could be in the future, was going to be called Kmillen, because his mother liked the sound of it. Kmillen Jacobi Carlton was born weighing 7 pounds 9 ounces and was very, very loud. But his mother couldn’t rest yet. “Ok Mrs Carlton, the next one’s coming. Just a little more.” The nurse said. Constance gripped tight onto her husband’s hand and almost screamed as she did the next push. Lucina Penelope Carlton was born 5 minutes to midnight on July the 17th, 1980 and weighed 6 pounds, 15 Ounces. She didn’t cry as loud as her brother did and she didn’t kick about too much. The nurses cleaned her and her brother up and put their beds right next to each other. When their mother woke up, they were taken to her and fed for the first time. Lucina fed particularly well and Kmillen fidgeted a bit, like he was trying to fight tiny invisible ninjas or something. Constance looked at her children proudly as they slept afterwards and prayed that they’d be this sweet forever. But, as she must have known, no child stays small and cute forever.

* * *

 

The twins were around 8 when they started showing ‘talents’. Things that other kids can’t do. For example, Luci would suddenly have books that had been on the top of the bookshelf, Kmillen would have the cookie jar that he couldn’t reach, toys would be broken one second and fixed the next. It was obvious that it was because of the children. Constance could not be happier. Her little babies, showing already at such a young age, and Lucina had even started (to a degree) to control it. Though Kmillen, and Lucina to a certain extent, was just using it for selfish reasons it was to be expected. They were smart kids, but they were just kids “Luci. Kmillen.” Constance said as she sat down in front of them. Lucina instantly turned and looked at her while Kmillen needed a bit of encouragement to listen “You two, like Mummy and Daddy, are special. You’re magical.”  
“Like Wizards!” Kmillen said happily, throwing his arms up. Constance smiled widely and nodded.  
“Exactly like wizards.” Kmillen jumped up in joy and Lucina tilted her head in confusion.  
"Wizards don't exist." Luci said with a sigh, thinking her brother to be an idiot for falling for it. Constance sighed and shook her head slightly before taking out her wand.  
"Avis." She muttered, making the paper that was in front of the children fold magically into birds and start flying. Lucina stood up and reached her hand up so one of the paper birds landed on her hand. It tweeted and Lucina smiled.  
"It's real." She whispered "Magic is real." Constance smiled at the sparkle in her daughter's eye, so glad that just a simple spell could bring her child such joy. How she'd get to Hogwarts without exploding would be a miracle.

* * *

 

On their 11th birthday, Luci and Kmillen scurried downstairs and eagerly sat down, watching the windows, to see if the owl would come with the letters. They'd been waiting for three days for it and they thought that it'd be a definite that they'd get it on their birthday. The owl landed on the outside windowsill and Lucina got up to open the window and let the owl in. While Kmillen took the letters from the owl's feet, Luci petted the bird and fed it before kissing the top of its head and allowing it to fly off with a final screech. The twins ran upstairs with their letters and jumped onto their parent's bed "They came!" Luci said excitedly.  
"We've got them, look look look." Kmillen said, almost shoving his letter into his father's face.  
They were trembling wrecks of eagerness when it came to shopping. They got their robes, their hats, gloves and cloaks from Madam Malkin's, two copies of each book on the list from Florish and Blott's, their wands from Olivander's (Luci had rosewood with a Kelpie Hair core while Kmillen had Ebony with dragon heart-string), their cauldrons from Potage's, their telescopes and scales from Wiseacre's, a few quills and bottles of ink from Scribbulus Writing Instruments and then came the animals, which Luci was looking forwards to "Wow." Luci exhaled, seeing all the animals in cages just looking at her and all seemingly begging without words for her to pick them.  
"I want this one." Kmillen said excitedly, looking at a bat. Luci turned and saw the animal he was looking at.  
"We can't have bats, stupid. Only Owls, Cats or Toads. Honestly, you're so dumb." Kmillen stuck his tongue out at Luci, who copied the action and turned with her black hair flicking behind her. Her eye caught on one cat which mewed at her when she saw it "Mum." She said, walking to the cat "Can I have this one?" Constance looked at her and smiled.  
"Of course honey. Kmillen, have you found one that you want?" Kmillen nodded, holding a Natterjack Toad in his hands.  
"It looks just like you." Lucina teased as Constance payed for the animals. Luci had permission so she opened the cat's cage and it slowly walked forwards the two steps it took for Lucina to take it in her arms. It was only a kitten and Lucina smiled, kissing the Balinese kit's head. She stroked her hand down its fur as they walked down Diagon Alley towards Sugarplum's Sweet Shop just for a treat to the twins for being on their best behavior.  
It was as they were walking down the crowded cobbled street, Luci nibbling at a licorice wand and Kmillen stuffing Chocoballs into his mouth, that Lucina was pushed unceremoniously by a small group of boys into a boy with black hair. She almost dropped her bags but managed to regain her composure "I am so sorry." She said to the boy, whose glasses had fallen off his face, and picked his glasses up.  
"It's fine." He smiled and then they carried on walking their separate ways, Luci having to half jog to catch up to her family. She didn't realize that she'd just met the Wizarding legend Harry James Potter, or that he'd be in her school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, the ending was weak :(


	2. Welcome to Hogwarts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Too excited to comprehend, the twins are finally at Hogwarts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the Intro was pretty weak but...I have no excuse. It was written over literally a month. I have a terrible thing called procrastination and I pause things right in the middle of sentences, not really knowing what I was thinking the next time I go to them. This is kinda shit as well. I deeply apologise.

Lucina couldn't sleep. She was shifting about on her bed to get comfortable but it just didn't work. She was too worked up, excited for Hogwarts. They'd be setting off the next day but she just couldn't sleep and it wasn't really helping matters that Kmillen's toad wouldn't shut up. Tabitha, Luci's Balinese kitten, jumped up onto the bed and curled close to Lucina's leg to sleep and Luci stroked her soft fur to try and calm herself down. Constance looked into the room and sighed when the dark green eyes of Lucina shone in the light "Luci, it's late. You should be asleep."  
"Can't. Too excited." Luci muttered so that Kmillen didn't wake. Constance sighed and walked over, patting Tabitha on the head softly.  
"Remember what I told you when you couldn't get to sleep on Christmas?"  
"Try and concentrate on dreaming about what you'll do." Lucina said with a nod "But that just makes me more excited!" She whined and Constance sighed fondly "Can't you use magic to get me to sleep?" The girl asked, pouting sadly. Her mother got out her wand and, with a soft muttered spell and a tap to Luci's head, the girl drifted off to sleep.

Luci dreamt about so many things; wizards and witches and dragons and magical potions and what house she'd be put into at Hogwarts and all the friends that she'd make while there. It was one of the best dreams she'd had ever in her life.

* * *

Constance and Isaac, holding the hands of Kmillen and Lucina, walked down to platform nine. Luci, when she'd seen her ticket, had frowned and muttered about "Nine and Three quarters isn't a platform, that's ridiculous." but then she remembered that her mom had literally turned Tabatha into a glass vase and could turn lights on and off with just a mutter and wave of her wand, so she shut up. The twins pushed their carts down to platform nine and looked to their parents for instructions.  
"Just run at it." Constance said, pointing at the pillar between platforms nine and ten. Lucina looked at her like she was crazy as Kmillen just set off and ran with seemingly stupid trust in magic. He went straight through it and Luci looked around to see if anyone else had seen it. It seemed no-one had, so she just took a deep breath and ran as fast as she could towards the hard brick.

And passed straight through it to a platform with a sign of '9 ¾'. Kmillen was already waiting there and Constance and Isaac came through the wall soon afterwards, going straight to Kmillen "What just-" Luci muttered but was interrupted by someone else going through the wall and hitting into her "Oww." She whined as she rubbed at the small of her back.  
"Be more careful." The boy said pretentiously, making Luci glare at him slightly. She turned and walked away from the elder ginger boy towards her family, her head high in a way that could be seen as snobbish. When she was out of his eyesight, she whined and rubbed the small of her back again but didn't make a huge fuss about it. Constance and Isaac did the usual thing of 'make sure to write to us, have fun, and for Merlin's sake, Kmillen, don't get into any trouble too early on' before kissing their little ones on the head and waving them off to the train. The twins hurried to get their own compartment and sat across from each other, just kicking each other softly while the train pulled out of the station. The twins waved manically at their parents and then relaxed for the ride.

The silence that they sat in was comfortable, since they were forever used to having nothing to say to each other. Kmillen spoke first "What d'ya think it'll be like?" He asked in excitement and Luci shrugged.  
"Mum said it's a castle, filled with lights and ghosts and animals." The girl sighed and looked out of the window. Tabatha jumped up onto the seat and curled up next to Luci, purring happily when her owner stroked her soft white fur. Kmillen’s toad just croaked multiple times, an unequal amount of time between each croak, and Kmillen patted it on the head twice "We'll be able to do magic." Lucina muttered happily and then looked at Kmillen with a grin "Won't it be amazing?!" She seemed to just be getting the message that she was going to do magic, because she was practically vibrating with excitement. Kmillen rolled his eyes at his twin and then grinned wider than Luci ever thought possble for anyone.  
"I'm gonna be a wizard." He chuckled and Luci nodded.  
"I'm gonna be a witch." She sighed. They spent another few minutes basking in the beauty of their lives until the compartment door opened abruptly and a brunette girl looked in. Her hair was kinda bushy and her teeth just on the edge of too big but she looked overall like a kind person.  
"Have you seen a toad?" She asked with a small sigh "A boy named Nevile's lost one."  
"Only toad here is my brother's." Lucina smiled apologetically "I'll make sure to keep a look out." The other girl smiled politely and then walked away, closing the door before she did. The twins looked at eachother and burst out laughing at the strange encounter. They didn't calm down for a while, until a ginger boy dressed in robes knocked on the window and opened the door. It was the same kid who'd bumped into Luci at the platform but he didn't seem to recognise the colored girl.  
"You two should change into robes. We'll be arriving soon." The twins nodded and then Luci stood up to grab her bag. She was a bit too small to reach it so she got her wand from her pocket. While Kmillen was no help, getting his own bag with little difficulty, Luci slid her wand under the handle of her bag and tugged the heavy case down into her arms. A soft grunt left her mouth involunterily as air was forced from her lungs but she just placed it on the seat and opened it. Tabitha nosed the contents probingly and Luci shooed her out of the way so that her robes could be accessed.  
"I'll go to the bathroom." She said to Kmillen, who nodded, and then left with her robes. She made sure to hurry past so no-one would see her, hiding herself in the bathroom and quickly getting dressed. It was weird, because the robes felt too floaty and she didn't like it, but it was the uniform and Luci would never break the rules.

As she was walking back to Kmillen, she saw someone was walking down so, when they got close enough, she turned to the side and let them pass. They just walked straight past, nudging Luci in the chest and stepping on her foot as they did, without even looking at her. Slightly peeved off, Lucina pouted and looked at him "You're bloody welcome." She called and he stopped, turning to her. She ddn't faulter her little pissed off pout even when he set her with a slight deathglare. Neither of them did anything but look at eachother before Luci spoke "Apology accepted, because my foot does hurt." She snarked and then turned and walked off. She got to the compartment and, seeing that the blinds were open, she opened the door and sat heavily on the seat, very narrowly missing sitting on Tabbie's tail.  
"Woah, someone's grumpy." Kmillen commented. Yes, she was grumpy. Her chest hurt and her foot hurt and she just really hated rude people, like that ginger boy from the platform and that blond brat.  
"Eat a rat's tail, Kmillen." She half-growled, hiding herself in her two-size-too-big cloak. Of course, the raven-haired girl had insisted upon having a cloak too big for her. It wasn't too long, but it was billowy and cuddly. At his twin snapping at him, Kmillen shut up and went to opening his chocolate frogs. Since they'd first gone to a wizard sweet shop, he was obsessed with the stuff and had around 25 cards. Luci had given him her two, because she didn't ever really like collecting stuff like that, and he'd thrown every-flavour beans at her as payment. Little bastard.

The rest of the journey consisted of Kmillen speaking occasionaly and Luci just staring out of the window, until there was a knock on their compartment window "We'll be arriving in two minutes." The ginger boy from the platform said as he looked in "You should leave your luggage on the train." The twins nodded and Luci stayed looking out of the window with Tabatha on her lap.

* * *

 

Hand in hand, as every close pair of siblings do, the twins hurried off the train and were met with a goliath of a man. Luci's eyes widened as she looked up at him, trembling slightly because of how intimidating this man was ""Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" He called in a thick scottish accent, so booming that it made Luci jump. Kmillen just chuckled and Luci thumped him on the back of the head. The big man seemed to see a student he recognised because he smiled widely "Alright there Harry?" He called and Luci looked behind her to see who it could be. Sadly, there was a sea of first years so there was no way of finding out who 'Harry' was. Getting over the appearence of 'Harry', the large man called out again "C'mon, follow me. Any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" Luci and Kmillen followed him, while getting pushed a bit by the many other students, down a steep, narrow path. There could have been trees but neither twin was sure as they walked wordlessly down the path after the large man, wondering how long it would take to get to Hogwarts. As though answered by Merlin himself, the man called out behind his back "Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec. Jus' round this bend here." People looked in awe at the majesty of the castle, Luci actually gasping at how beautiful it looked in the dark with the starry sky reflected against the lake so it looked like the castle was on an impossible hunk of rock in a realm of space. It seemed to glow, with each light coming from the windows, and added to the magic that could almost be felt by each child. No matter what they were -'pureblood', half-muggle or muggle born- they had never encountered such magic. Someone behind Luci scoffed a bit.  
"All this fuss over a school on a bit of rock." He said and Luci supressed the urge to turn and give him a proper verbal bollocking, instead setting her jaw and just gazing at the place that would house her and her brother. It was amazing.

They walked closer to the lake, which had boats lined up, and the large beardy man turned to the children "No more'n four to a boat!" He called and then they all went to the boats. Luci and Kmilled obviously went into one boat with another pair of twins, these two being identical and very chatty. On the journey across the lake, with one point where they had to stop speaking because they had to duck their heads, the four of them spoke and found out quite a bit about each other. The girls were called Padma and Parvati Patil, they were 100% sure of their houses -Padma in Ravenclaw and Parvati in Gryffindor- and they were alwasy ready to gossip. They'd heard rumours that Harry Potter was going to be in Hogwarts. At the blank looks of the other set of twins, the Patils gaped at them and filled them in on everything about Harry Potter. By the end of the trip, Luci felt like she knew more about Harry Potter than she did herself. Neville's toad was found and then they went up a flight of steep stone steps and crowded around the Huge Man as he banged heavily three times against an oak door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry but I seriously lost ideas and didn't want to let it wait any longer. I updated this instead of sleeping so...yea.


	3. The Sorting Ceremony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sorting hat makes a grave mistake, which sets Luci on a deadly path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, obviously, this continues on from the last chapter. I wanted it to start at the same point that Chapter Seven starts in the book, mainly because I was bored of altering the words after copy-pasteing them. No copy-paste here though...Maybe the school song, and the Sorting Hat's song  
> So anyway. Word of warning; I cannot spell, at all, and have no spell-check

The door swung open after the Large Man knocked, shocking Luci slightly. Stood in the doorway was an elderly black-haired witch with emerald-green robes. She looked very stern and reminded Lucina of Aunt Shanice in Ireland, who hated it when you scuffed your shoes on the floor or messed up the table-cloth and had a prefered method of a thin cane to the hands for repremand (unless you were really naughty and then you got a sharp whack on the bottom) "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." The large man said with a smile and the woman nodded a bit.  
"Thank you Hagrid." Luci smiled a bit at his name. It was as rugged as the man himself and, now that Luci knew it, there was no other name she could think of for him "I will take them from here." And she opened the door fully. The children's eyes widened almost comically at the entrance hall. It was huge, as wide as an average house with torches lighting it up and a huge staircase made of smooth marble facing them. The gawping children followed Professor McGonagall, some children scuffing their shoes on the stone, past a large doorway holding back loud chatter and into a small chamber. Lucina mumbled apologies when she accidently elbowed someone while being pushed to the side "Welcome to Hogwarts." Professor McGonagall said loud enough for every child to hear "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your steats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses." A few children, who thought they knew for definate what house they belonged in, smiled smugly and gave their friends a nudge of 'I know' "The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room." Lucina was instantly hit with nerves at that. What if no-one in her house liked her? She'd be forever surrounded, at least in the school, by people who didn't accept her. Kmillen squeezed her hand comfortingly, instantly knowing when his sister is distressed, and then dropped it with a soothing smile "The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."  Then she straightened up slightly and looked over each child individually while she spoke "The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Lucina's face paled. The whole school? Everyone? Her hands began shaking and her knees trembled. She can't stand in front of the school. Instantly, she went to nervously plaiting her hair "I shall return when we are ready for you," Professor McGonagall said "Please wait quietly." And then she left all the children in the chamber, left them all to absorb their fear of what the ceremony would be. While she was fretting, Luci felt a cool chill go over her and she screamed slightly as the chill made her tense almost painfully. Thankfully, she wasn't the only one to scream at that moment, and her and Kmillen looked to see what had made the girl scream.  
Ghosts. Real ghosts. About twenty of them, all paper-white and translucent, gliding fluidly through the air and chatting to eachother about something that Lucina didn't pay attention to until a ghost wearing tudor-like clothing saw the children "I say, what are you all doing here?" It asked and none of the shocked children said a single word.  
"New students!" A fat monk ghost boomed joyfully with a huge smile "About to be sorted, I suppose?" Without a word, around twelve students nodded "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff. My old house, you know."  
"Move along now." Professor McGonagall said, having re-entered, and made all the children look at her "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." In a line, one-by-one, the ghosts went through the opposite wall and Lucina's bright eyes didn't leave them until the tails of the final ghost's coat disappeared through the wall "Now-" McGonagall said to the pre-teens, who all straightened like soldiers in slight fear "-form a line and follow me." With heavy legs and trembling hands, Lucina stood in front of Kmillen and behind a girl with short black hair and then they all followed the Professor through the huge double-doors and into the Great Hall.

It was very accuratly named. Four long tabled were spaced evenly, two on either side of the obvious walkway, with hundreds of candles floating above each and golden plates and goblets lain out across the wood. At the very head of the hall was another table where all the teachers were sat, Lucina could see Hagrid sat beside a rather plump looking woman wearing what seemed to be gardening clothes. The centre chair was more like a throne, with an elderly man sat on the luxorious cusions; he wore very bright clothing and a large hat, a long beard sprouting from around his mouth and long silvery hair falling from his hat. That must have been Professor Dumbledore. The stumbling first years were led to that table, all facing the older and staring students with the ghosts sat mixed with them. Lucina, suddenly more self-concious, looked down to her feet and her sparkling shoes which where slightly hidden under her robes. She heard the bushy-haired girl speak quietly "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read it in Hogwarts, A History." Lucina, intregued, looked up and saw the night-sky above her with hundreds upon thousands of stars winking down at the pre-teens. Her jaw dropped slightly and her green eyes sparkled just as much as her shoes did, just as much as the stars as though that light was reflected in her eyes. Professor McGonagall placed a stool in front of the children, making them all look at it, and then placed a frayed and dirty hat on the seat. Luci pulled a slight face, hoping that she didn't have it put it on. It could have lice, or something, and how would that decide what house they were in. It sprung to life and shocked Luci as it spoke, making her grip her brother's arm tightly and Kmillen laugh fondly at his sister's reaction.  
_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty_  
_But do not judge on what you see._  
_I'll eat myself if you can find_  
_A smarter hat than me._  
_You can keep your bowlers black,_  
_Your top hats sleek and tall,_  
_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting hat_  
_And I can cap them all._  
_There's nothing hidden in your head_  
_The Sorting Hat can't see,_  
_So try me on and I will tell you_  
_Where you ought to be._  
_You might belong in Gryffindor,_  
_Where dwell the brave at heart,_  
_Their daring, verve and chivalry,_  
_Set Gryffindors apart;_  
_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_  
_Where they are just and loyal,_  
_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,_  
_And unafraid of toil;_  
_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_  
_If you've a ready mind,_  
_Where those of wit and learning,_  
_Will always find their kind._  
_Or perhaps in Slytherin,_  
_You'll make your real friends,_  
_Those cunning folk use any means,_  
_To achieve their ends._  
_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_  
_And don't get in a flap!_  
_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_  
_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_ At the end of the song everyone clapped as it bowed at the tables and the First Years laughed a bit at the randomness of this Sorting Hat. So all they had to do was put on this singing hat, Luci thought with a soft chuckle, and it would say what house they were in. Luci had an idea of what she'd be in. Ravenclaw. She was smart, she was ready to learn, and Mum always said she was very witty. Professor McGonagall stood in front of the children with a long roll of parchment.  
"When I call your name-" She spoke loudly so the whole hall heard "- you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." Then she cleared her throat and started to call off names "Abbot, Hannah." A blonde girl scurried nervously over to the stool and sat down while the hat was placed on her head, covering her eyes. After a few moments, the hat called out loud.  
"HUFFLEPUFF!" A few children jumped at the sudden broken silence as the table on the far right cheered and clapped and Hannah sat down at the Hufflepuff table with the Fat Ghost cheering and having a huge smile on his face.  
"Bones, Susan!" She was another Hufflepuff, and the Fat Monk was almost vibrating in happiness at another new addition "Boot, Terry."  
"RAVENCLAW!" The Ravenclaw table, the closest left, burst into cheering and clapping while Terry hurried over to them.  
"Brocklehurst, Mandy!" Another Ravenclaw, with a girl called Lavender Brown being the first Gryffindor. The table on the far left started making a ruckus, obviously the brave and proud Gryffindors "Bulstrode, Millicent!"  
"SLYTHERIN!" Lucina watched as the Slytherins cheered for Millicent, all seeming very dark and proud of themselves in a different way to Gryffindor's students.  
"Carlton, Kmillen!" McGonagall had trouble pronouning his first name, since Mum seemed to have made it up on the spot. Kmillen bounded over and sat down, ever the confident one, with a large grin on his face. The Hat was placed upon his head and he pushed it up a bit so that he could see. With hardly a second of thought, The Sorting Hat spoke.  
"HUFFLEPUFF!" It declared to the whole hall. The Hufflepuffs started cheering as the hat was taken from Kmillen's head and the boy hurried over to sit. He high-fived a few of the elder boys and grinned to his sister.  
"Carlton, Lucina." Lucina exhaled shakily and stiffly walked over to the stool, sitting down and keeping a straight posture as the hat was placed on her head. She, as Kmillen had done, moved it slightly so that she could see her brother. He gave her double thumbs-up to give her confidence and she smiled softly.  
_"A second one? In so little time."_ The Hat said in her mind _"Well, you're certainly very different to him, aren't you? I see a great potential in you; a need to prove yourself to your brother, a thirst for the attention and confidence that he has. You have a special spark and mind, a personality that can't be matched so easily. You're so strong and with hidden talents, there's only one house for you."_ She smiled softly, thinking Ravenclaw would have a new addition, when the Sorting Hat opened its mouth to shout out "SLYTHERIN!"

And time slowed down.

She seemed to see everything at once but nothing at all. Kmillen was all she could focus on; his face falling to a look of disappointment at his sister like it was her fault. She felt the hat being lifted from her head yet she still sat there, shocked and utterly terrified, for a second then walked like a zombie to a spot at the Slytherin table. There might have been cheering but she didn't hear, and it seemed to have died down anyway when the Slytherins saw that she looked like she'd seen Death himself. She didn't pay attention to the rest of the sorting, not even when a boy sat heavily beside her, and only looked down to her hands "Welcome!" A voice boomed kindly and Lucina looked up to see the headmaster beaming at them as though this was the best day of his life "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" Lucina looked at the man in confusion "Thank you." And he sat down, leaving Lucina to ponder about the strange words until she saw the golden plates were suddenly piled high with food. The girl didn't feel like eating, even though she hadn't eaten anything all day out of excitement scaring her into thinking she was going to vomit, so she just picked at a few things; A small scoop of mash and a few peices of bacon, a tiny cutting of roast beef and a single Yorkshire pudding which she didn't finish.  With the rest of Slytherin chattering to eachother, Lucina picked at her food and sucked on peppermint humbugs when she'd finished that. Soon the remains of the food faded and was swiftly replaced with mountains of dessert foods. Again, Lucina just grabbed a huge handfull of mint humbugs and sucked on one at a time. She was very silent until someone turned to her and spoke.  
"What about you?" The blond boy beside her said and she looked up, slightly dazed.  
"Excuse me?" She asked and the boy rolled his eyes.  
"Your family. What are you?" She'd been told by Mum that people would ask what she was, and what she actually was.  
"Both my parents are magical." She said weakly "There hasn't been a muggle in my direct bloodline ever." The blond nodded a bit.  
"Pureblood. Then again, I didn't expect less of a Slytherin. I'm Draco Malfoy."  
"Lucina Carlton." The boy didn't offer his hand to shake, which Lucina didn;t like very much since manners are important to her "Nice to meet you." She kept her sour tone hidden.  
"Is your family anything important?" He asked pretentiously and Lucina looked at him slightly insultedly "It's just that I haven't heard of the Carltons. Father never invited any Carltons to his gatherings."  
"We're a small family, consisting of many pairs of twins that have branched off to lead muggle and Wizarding lives. I doubt any high-society pompus families would care to focus on us." With a very slight bite in her words that was hidden with another mint humbug placed into her mouth, she pulled herself from the conversation.

\--------------------

Soon enough, the desserts disappeared and Dumbledore stood again, the hall growing suddenly silent "Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." He looked pointedly at a pair of identical red-heads on the Gryffindor table, who grinned cheekily at him "I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch." His face suddenly turned very grave and dark "And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." A few people laughed but Luci saw the serious look on his face and was suddenly very scared. This was meant to be a safe place to nurture young children into fine wizards and witches, but there was a deadly threat in the school grounds? Suddenly the old man smiled "And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" With a flick of his wand, a ribbon flew out from the tip and twisted to golden words above the tables "Everyone pick their favourite tune and off we go!" The whole school burst out into a cacophony of various tunes, with Lucina being able to see that Kmillen had gone for 'La Cucaratcha' while the girl herself refused to sing.  
_"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_  
_Teach us something please,_  
_Whether we be old and bald_  
_Or young with scabby knees,_  
_Our heads could do with filling_  
_With some interesting stuff,_  
_For now they're bare and full of air,_  
_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_  
_So teach us things worth knowing,_  
_Bring back what we've forgot,_  
_just do your best, we'll do the rest,_  
_And learn until our brains all rot."_ While everyone was screaming the lyrics, Lucina heard Draco sighing and saying that it was, and I quote, pathetic childish nonsence conjured up by an old coot. The red-haired twins from Gryffindor had chosen the funeral march and were the last to finish, with everyone clapping at the end. Dumbledore sighed happily and wiped his eyes in a way Luci didn't think was sarcastic "Ah, music. A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot." The first-years were told to stay seated until the other years had left, being led out of the room by an older student with a prefect badge.

\--------------------

They were led down many twists and turns to the dungeon of the school, a dark and dripping place where the moans of the more sadistic ghosts echoed and sent shivers down the spines of the children. They were then stopped in front of a portrait, which looked at the prefect expectantly "Meliusculus*." He said and the portrait nodded before swinging open. The prefect led them all into the common room and Lucina instantly knew she wouldn't like it. Lights and lamps cast a sickly green tinge over the place, with windows exposing the fact that it was partway underwater. Tapestries and paintings of old Slytherins decorated the cold stone walls with a large stone snake with an emerald eye carved above the fireplace. Grand throne-chairs were paired around small square tables while a few large couches were set close to the fire with footstools and a largeish table. Small decorative pillars had snakes carved as decoration, spiraling around the wood and stone and just staring the children down as they looked around. Expensive rugs made soft noises underneath their small feet and dark-wood cupboards and bookshelves loomed over then with skulls staring at them through eyeless sockets. The whole room had snakes and green and a stench of 'Pureblood Pride' and richkid pompusness. Each staircase leading down to the bedrooms was carved out of black marble with emeralds -if they be fake or real it was no hinderance to vanity- placed into the handrail.

Lucina and the other girls were pointed to the girl's dorm staircase and Luci found herself with Daphne Greengrass, Ursa Dupree and Paige Delarosa. She could tell that they were all pampered little princesses, all of them, with their dainty suitcases and expencive robes while she had a monster of a thing and baggy cuddly robes that you could lose a man Hagrid's size in. Luci pulled back her dark-green lacey curtains of the four-poster bed so that she could thud her case onto the green and silver sheets. She unclasped the metal and then swung the top open. Underwear was hurriedly put in the drawers at the side of the bed, to avoid embarrasment, with a small collection of both Muggle and Wizard books neatly placed on top of the drawers with fairy bookends that her mum had got her. Other clothes, such as trousers and shirts and a spare uniform or two, were placed in the drawer above her underwear neatly with the third drawer being used to neatly seperate her school things -Quills, pots of ink, parchment, her wand, etc. She was done way before the other girls. They were talking about home and their family and "ooh, Daphne, let me see that dress, isn't it amazing? I've got one almost exactly like that, but there are so many more jewels". Lucina just got changed into pyjamas and kicked her empty case under her bed before settling to sleep underneath the thick green duvet, outlined in silver. Just as she was drifting off, Tabatha jumped up and curled up beside her head, purring softly to help her owner fall asleep after a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Meliusculus means Superior. Because Slytherins are dicks.


	4. Time to Learn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luci hates her roomates, her lessons, her surroundings. She hates Hogwarts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought that I might as well try and do a chapter that isn’t completed in one go at fuck O’Clock in the morning. So, here it is. It's crap. I do my best work in one go at fuck o'clock in the morning.

Lucina woke before anyone else did, which she was thankful for since she got the feeling that the girls that she lived with didn’t like her that much. Well, she didn’t really expect any less, since she wasn’t really Slytherin material. She wasn’t from a rich family, even if they were ‘pure’, and she had quite a lot of compassion while she had heard that Slytherins lacked any kind of care for anyone at all but themselves and their own. That’s why she had doubts about…everything. Nevertheless, Lucina got out of bed with Tabatha mewing in confusion at the sudden movement waking the kitten and then the coloured girl got dressed and set off upstairs. She left the Slytherin Common Room, since it made her cold and uncomfortable, and then she started to hurry off towards the Great Hall. Up the winding staircases Lucina scuttled even when she was out of breath while portraits criticised her and tutted at the speed of the Slytherin girl, saying that there was no need to run quite as much and she should respect the school grounds by slowing down. When one of the staircases moved, Luci almost fell face first down the gap between the stairs and the floor but managed to catch herself just in time. She exhaled shakily and hurried off the stairs the second that she could, rushing to the Great Hall not quite as fast as previously because there were people who could see her and there really was no need for her to be running to the Great Hall. The coloured girl sat right at the end of the Slytherin table, where it would be easy for people to avoid her and vice versa, and just took some of the humbugs that seemed to be constantly there whenever food was. Slowly and gradually, the hall filled up to full capacity and Lucina kept right on the edge of the bench so that she didn't accidently touch anyone or get any negative attention. When everyone was in the hall, not all of them really awake or even alive-looking, there was a soft screeching sound like an owl and then hundreds of owls flocked in, dropping letters in front of all the first-years from their parents, congratulating them on their house. Kmillen's face shone when he got his letter. When Luci’s letter fell in front of her, her face fell also. She didn’t want to open it. The first Slytherin in her family, she didn’t want to read the regret and rejection from her parents because that would kill her. She slipped the letter into her inside pocket of her jacket and then stood and left, not knowing that someone was watching her with soft worry as the door started to close behind her.

* * *

Lucina went straight to her first lesson, not caring that she would be very early or that she’d probably sit down and have no-one sat around her, and just waited by the door until her Defence against the Dark Arts teacher walked over with a soft confused look “H-Hello.” He said bewilderedly and Lucina smiled weakly in reply “Y-You’re early.”  
“I know.” Lucina mumbled and the teacher, Professor Quirrell, nodded just slightly.  
“Oh. You better c-come in then.” He stuttered and then opened the door for Lucina to walk in. She walked in, head down and shoulders sagging, and then sat at one of the very back desks while dropping her bag to the floor "What's your name?" The man asked.  
"Lucina Carlton, Sir."  
"And y-you're Slytherin?" Lucina nodded, not wanting to voice it truly "Do you not want t-to be in Slytherin?"  
"No-one who goes into Slytherin comes out good." The girl said only just audibly to the elder, making him sigh softly and walk over.  
"Y-You d-don't know that." Then the door opened and a few children walked in, making Quirrel walk away from Lucina since she seemed to clam up the second that they entered. The classroom, as the Great Hall had, slowly filled up and Lucina was left alone for almost the whole time that people were getting settled, her head bowed and eyes locked firmly onto the wooden desk. Just before the lesson was about to start, that kid Draco sat on the desk just in front of Lucina, one of his friends sitting next to him and two of the other ones on the desk beside him. The final one, a black-haired girl, sat at the only available place that was close to Draco, which just happened to be beside Luci. Lucina didn't really realise though, since she was still debating opening the letter. Would her parents, after hearing about her sorting, be disappointed in her? Would this have news that they didn't want a Slytherin in their family? Would they abandon her? After about five minutes of internal debating over it, she decided she'd open it...After class, obviously. They were learning about merfolk, and that just really intrigued her to hell. As it turned out, mermaids weren't like the fairy-tales said, which was...disappointing, to say the least. Still it was very intriguing because she was just really interested in merfolk and those types of things. Yet the contents of the letter scratched at the inside of her mind for the entire lesson so she could only just concentrate for the right amount of time. She was a Slytherin, the first in her whole family, so she was counting on her parents disowning her and sending her to Uncle Sean who didn’t give a shit about magic.

No-one goes into Slytherin and comes out good. The entire Malfoy family, the majority of the Black family, Voldemort himself. All of them Slytherins, all of them evil. Sure, some Slytherins weren’t evil but they weren’t good either. There were the criminal Slytherins, corrupt aurers, lying politicians and ruthless bosses. No Slytherin can ever truly be good in life, because that is what Slytherin is. The snake emblem; crafty, sly, lying and manipulative. Perfect politicians really. The class ended slowly and Lucina opened the envelope as she started walking out to her second class, which was Herbology with Professor Sprout.  
_To our dear Luci_  
_We know that you are not in the house that you expected, nor the one that you want to be in, but understand that it doesn’t mean you have to be the stereotype. We have always taught you to be different in a good way, be who you want and not who people expect you to be. People will expect you to be evil and a bully, but you must be yourself and be the amazing sweet girl we love. You’re not defined by your house, but by who you choose to be. Nothing that you could do will make us hate you, remember that. We love you._  
_From: Mum and Dad <3_

That should have raised Luci’s spirits but she was still terrified. She was just a natural pessimist really so nothing was ever good news. She stuffed the letter into her robes pocket again and walked off down the many corridors. She had no idea where Herbology was, and it wasn’t like the students had been given a map with the layout of the school, so she was just slightly late. _  
_

* * *

Herbology was...it was a thing. It was over slowly, she had a break before her next lesson that was spent wandering around and then she had to go to another lesson. As she wandered through the twisting corridors of Hogwarts, she didn't feel any of the awe and majesty that she had felt before the sorting ceremony, and she couldn't shake the feeling of danger looming around the entire school

The day was long, and full of boring lessons. Charms consisted of the professor bumbling about as he tried to teach them properly how to handle a wand. She was the only one in the Slytherin/Ravenclaw Transfiguration class who managed to turn the match into a needle, because she listened carefully to the instructions. Really, it wasn't a very good day and Luci collapsed face-first onto her bed after finishing all her homework. Tabby didn't help matters by lying on her back and purring as though Luci was giving her the biggest fluffiest hug ever "Tabby, you may be cute but you are a pain in my arse." The black-haired girl sighed heavily. The cat was heavy, considering her small size, and Luci didn't want to disturb the fluffball. Therefore, she fell asleep in her uniform by accident. She didn't make a habit of it, I tell you that. Normally, she was very careful when she went to bed but she was just so strung out and tired that she couldn't help it. Her sour mood wasn't improved when she woke up unexpectedly at the sound of the door slamming and three pairs of footsteps walking in.  
"Urgh, look at her." Paige scoffed.  
"Only to be expected from a blood traitor like her." Ursa sighed "Probably poor as well."  
"She doesn't deserve to be Slytherin." Luci continued to pretend to sleep as she turned and made Tabby run off her instantly. The three girls were silent for a second and then went back to talking shit about Luci. Rather than get offended and angry, hexing the living gold out of them where they stood, Luci slowly curled up and suppressed sobs. Thankfully it didn't take long for them to shit talk someone else, a poor girl named Granger, and Lucina calmed down eventually when Tabatha jumped back up onto the bed and nudged her 'awake'. She fake grumbled herself awake and then, looking down at her uniform, got up and groggily got changed. The grogginess was genuine, since she was tired and crying got her tired as well. After getting dressed, she crawled onto her bed and closed the curtains around her bed before lying down heavily and going to sleep.

* * *

There are prophecies for everyone in the world. Every muggle, every wizard, every witch. Some of them are achieved without anyone knowing they exist, most are quite boring; live a normal life, raise your children to be kind, rise to the top of your job ladder. But sometimes there is a prophecy which is brighter and better, or much darker, than all the others and they can either be achieved or broken, but they will always be viewed by their holder no matter what. Everyone in Harry Potter's year has a slightly brighter or darker prophecy. Draco's, for one, is darker while Hermione Granger's is brighter. Lucina's isn't either though, not yet. Maybe when she gets further involved in it all, she'll have a difference in her prophecy. But there is something that varies with her. A power, that no-one in her year has. Even she doesn't have it yet. When she has it, when she's useful, then her prophecy will have use also. Not yet, though. That's for later years, for when she’s…closer.

* * *

_Friday 6th, September, 1991_

Her first Astrology lesson was on Wednesday, as it would be every week, with the Hufflepuffs. Kmillen had stuck by her, and every day they met up during free time to talk and walk around. Those times were literally the best moments in all of Hogwarts. But today she had potions, with the Gryffindors. Professor Snape did favour the Slytherins, so Luci wasn’t worried about having him pay too much attention to when she’d obviously mess up. Potions took place in the dungeons, so Luci was used to the cold since her dorm was down there, and Professor Snape had a …unique decoration style that made the dungeons go from creepy to downright weird, with parts of animals in glass jars giving the place a certain ‘atmosphere’. During register, he made a comment about Harry Potter, and Luci looked around to try and find the celebrity. She didn’t know much about him, only what the Patils had told her on the boat and what she’d heard around school, and he didn’t really look too special when she did see him. She could tell that it was him because he looked mortified that he had been singled out, as he must have been every lesson. Luci knew what Snape was like, she’d heard stories and seen him around the dungeons and around school. He looked dark, cold, like he had no emotion anymore and like there was nothing that anyone could do to get any reaction above a slight glare from him. Frankly, he intimidated her. Only once had he spoken to her and the words had been so solid and monotonous that she had actually stuttered her answer out like the very words had frozen the air. The encounter wasn’t even negative; he was congratulating her on already earning ten points for Slytherin but even that made her uneasy.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making.” He started, each word precisely pronounced and every student clinging onto the cold syllables. He had a gift of making every student stay silent, without even trying, which she had only seen with Professor McGonagall the few days previous “As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death, if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.” Luci’s breath caught in her throat. This man, who scared her to death, had somehow non-magically conjured up the urge inside her to do more than her best. She needed to prove that she was smart, that she was special, because that is what Professor Snape wanted and to disappoint her own head of house would surely make her be singled out. The way he spoke of potions, of the hidden power of them, had made tingles like bubbles run up Luci’s spine and she almost shuddered “Potter!” He barked and a few people jumped at the noise, since they had been tense the whole time "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Everyone’s eyes fell to Harry as they waited for his answer, and a frizzy-haired girl suddenly shot her hand up.  
"I don't know, sir." The boy said eventually, confused as all hell just like everyone was. Snape tutted.  
“Fame clearly isn’t everything.” He sneered in a way that seemed natural to Slytherins "Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Harry seemed still confused and, this time, Lucina did know the answer yet didn’t put her hand up, instead writing it down and hoping that all this was relevant and not just bullying. The girl near Harry stretched her hand up further, excitable and desperate. While Harry was looking straight at Snape, Draco and his little goons were giggling like there was a joke.  
“I don’t know, sir.” Harry said again and Lucina frowned as Snape replied.  
"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?” The way he said it was even colder than anything else he’d said, if it was possible, and Lucina felt sorry for Harry "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" The girl near Harry literally stood up, a determined pout on her face in slight frustration, and Harry looked slightly to the side at her.  
“I don’t know.” Harry answered quietly again “I think Hermione does, though. Why don’t you try her?” That got a smile from Luci, and a glare from Professor Snape who then directed the glare to Hermione.  
“Sit down.” He snapped and Hermione nervously lowered her hand as she sat, practically trembling under the fiery gaze and frost-bitten words "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite.” Everyone looked more than a little stumped and confused, until Professor Snape looked at them and frowned even deeper than he had before “Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" The entire classroom was filled with the noise of students fumbling their search for parchment and quills “And-” Their teacher said, raising his voice over the noisy search “-a point will be taken from Gryffindor house for your cheek, Potter.” Then he turned away and floated across the room, silent until everyone was silent and finished their note taking “Now, I want you to get into pairs to craft a simple potion, to cure boils.” Merlin’s beard, really? If there was one thing Luci hated, it was group work and especially when she knew no-one there. A girl called Millicent was paired up with her, and she didn’t seem too bad even if she was covered in cat hair. She seemed content to let Luci take control of the entire potion making, instead talking to her friend who was seated behind her.

* * *

Potions was hell for Gryffindor. Luci had heard rumours about Snape, but the truth as nothing like it. He seemed to have a personal vendetta against Harry Potter, glaring at almost every student. The rare praise he gave out was to Malfoy and (to her surprise) Lucina, but only because she could actually follow the instructions easily. But poor Potter. When Snape was praising Malfoy, Neville Longbottom had messed up and melted the cauldron. Of course, it couldn't have been Neville's fault in the slightest, so Snape yelled at him but then started to verbally abuse Harry as well. If she had the nerve, Luci would have said something but she just didn't want to lose that respect Snape seemed to have for her and her abilities.

When walking out of the dungeon, Lucina didn't feel any better. She felt horrible for Harry, and she wasn't fond of being a Slytherin because every one of the others had an almost permanent smirk on their little richkid faces. When she saw Kmillen walking to the Great Hall, he just gave her a slight smile that had no real fondness to it, breaking her heart even more. There had been few places that she had hated, Great-Grandma Jennie's home smelt of grass all the time so that wasn't a very fondly seen place, but she hated Hogwarts. No place had made her brother hate her but this one had managed it. She'd rather be a squib than be a Slytherin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really ran out of steam with this. I apologise greatly.


	5. The Hufflepuff House-Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to see how Kmillen got on now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was seriously stuck on what to do here so Kmillen happened. I never really intended on making him major but, hey, if the gun's on the wall it better be used.

_"Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_  
_And learn until our brains all rot."_ Kmillen had happily joined in the singing, if that cacophony of noise could ever be considered tuneful in the slightest, and had hardly looked over at his sister to check if she was singing as well. He bet she was, because he knew what she was like. A silly mix up would never bring her mood down enough that she wouldn't participate in some silly singing. Everyone clapped heartily, the teachers at the table all seeming slightly amused at how entertained everyone always was, other than one man sat at the very edge of the table who had hair like an inked mop and a stoic face even while he clapped with everyone else. The headmaster wiped his eye and smiled honestly "Ah, music." He sighed almost joyously "A magic beyond all we do here! And now-" He clapped his hands together loudly, the noise magnified by the vast space of the hall "-bedtime. Off you trot." The first years, all sat at one end, were told by the elder students to stay seated until an older boy with a pink badge attached to his uniform stood and told them to walk with him to the common room. Before they had left, the Slytherin table had been ordered up by their own elder student. Lucina didn't look at him as they walked out, and he frowned softly in worry. They very rarely were apart, so he expected at least a look back from his sister to check where he was sat or if he was OK. He wanted to call out to her but he'd feel awkward doing that in the quiet hall.

The elder boy led them out and introduced himself politely as Gabriel, said that he was one of the prefects and that he would be in charge of not only disciplining the misbehaving bunch but also helping them with anything if they needed it. They were led through the school and towards a nook on the right hand side of the kitchen corridor, a few students taking the scents in even though many of them had eaten more than their fill at the feast, to see a stack of barrels with a door hidden behind them. Gabriel gestured for the children to step back as he tapped on one specific barrel in a  _tap tap. Tap tap tap._ beat that made the door swing open "Now, you have to remember that, everyone. If you tap on the wrong barrel, you'll get a face full of vinegar and you won't be able to get in until someone else comes in or out. It won't change, not like the other common rooms, so you won't have to worry about doing it right and not being allowed in." He smiled and then gestured for the students to enter the warm room, each of them walking inside in twos and smiling instantly as earthy colours reflected onto their skin and covered them in a soft healthy glow. It looked beautiful, like a woodland hideaway in a fantasy movie, with a warm shimmer seeming to cover it all in fairytale magic that he only hoped would be learnt in the lessons. There was a collective sigh of immediate comfort from every first year, making Gabriel smile so widely that it almost split his face in half. The sofas were a soft cream colour and looked like clouds, tables made of either pine or ash wood were scattered between groups of chairs, the frames to the stairways were made of a similar shaded wood. There were no jewels or extravagance, just simple pleasures of sight from the top of the ceiling until the lowest part of the floors. A bird was half expected to flutter across their view, only to land on the arm of a chair and chirp happily, yet that obviously didn't happen. There was a singular portrait of a woman who smiled at the children and beckoned them over joyously.  
"Hello, children!" She trilled "My name is Helga. Helga Hufflepuff. I'm the founder of this house of Hogwarts, and I'm so happy to see all your bright little faces." The painting clasped her hands together and looked over each pre-teen individually with a gentle smile "I know that all of you are destined for greatness. Every last one of you. If you put your heart into it, and support your fellow students from every house, you will go far in life." A few students nodded their understanding and agreement "No matter their family, or their house, or their reputation, you must help those who need it and expect nothing in return but their thanks." But then the woman grinned "But of course you know that, that's why you're here. You are all just and loyal." Then her eyes fell upon Gabriel, who seemed to gesture to his watch, and she nodded once "Now off to bed. You have such a busy day tomorrow."  
"Goodnight Helga." A few students said happily, while others just yawned and waved, or stayed slightly in awe at their house founder and how, after so many years after her death, she was still caring for her students. Kmillen was the last to turn and leave, a smile on his face as he waved to Helga. She smiled right back at him and waved gently, bowing her head in a silent farewell before going back to her chair in the painting to read. As Kmillen went to walk to his new room, he wondered if that book changed every time she finished it, or if it truly had any writing in it at all.

The room looked quite generic. There were four beds, the curtains and sheets soft orange and gentle yellows and the wood being the same as every other bit of wood in the common room, with a chest of drawers per bed and a chest at the foot of it. Their bags were already there, and Kmillen first packed everything away before he smiled at the other three boys that he'd be seeing every morning and night of Hogwarts "Hi." He said chirpily, the other boys just as energetic "I'm Kmillen, Carlton."  
"Wayne Hopkins." A blonde boy said as he sat on the chest at the foot of his bed, reaching over to shake Kmillen's hand.  
"Barney McLain." A dark-haired boy smiled and did a small salute in greeting, which the other three boys did in return.  
"And I'm Laird O'Bradan." An Irish lad grinned "Nice ta meecha all." They then spoke happily and casually until it started to grow later and they got tired. Laird was the first to retire to bed, then Kmillen, with Wayne and Barney getting to bed at the same time. They exchanged stories, of their family and their journey to Hogwarts. Laird was adopted, didn't know anything about his real parents, didn't even know his blood Status, and his adoptive mother had no idea that wizards were even a thing. He'd sat in silence on the train, had almost missed it and was panicking that he wouldn't be allowed into Hogwarts. Barney was a half-blood. Dad was a wizard, mum knew about it but didn't think that Barney would be picked for a wizarding school. Still a pleasant surprise though. He'd had cousins to talk to on the train, a girl in Ravenclaw and another girl who was in Gryffindor. He said that neither of the houses were a surprise to anyone. Wayne was also half-blooded, didn't really want to say much about his family. Probably because he wasn't ready to tell strangers much about his family, which Kmillen kinda understood. Wayne had a few friends on the train with him, had made a few as well. One was a Slytherin boy, but he said that the houses wouldn't stop the friendship. After all, Helga herself had told them to treat all the houses equally. Kmillen told the boys of his sister and his parents, that he had about a billion family members scattered around, and that he was really down for trying to join the quiddich team. That night, he felt accomplished. After all, he had new friends already and he was going to be learning  **magic**. As he drifted off to sleep, however, he could only wonder if his sweet sister felt the same.

* * *

His dreams disappeared from his mind like smoke in the wind, but he woke with a raised spirit though slightly confused as to why his bed sheets were orange. But then he remembered Hogwarts, that it wasn't just a dream, and he turned to see that Laird was also rousing from sleep "Mornin' lad." Laird said groggily.  
"Hey." Laird stretched, sitting up and reaching over to his drawers to get his clothes.  
"Ya ready for today then?" Kmillen nodded, not ready to get dressed or get up yet "My ma' told me that she'll be sendin' a letter, ya think yours will?"  
"Mum and Dad always send letters when we're away."  
"We?" Laird asked and Kmillen nodded, sighing and ready to explain before Laird understood "Oh, you and your sister. Luci, was it?"  
"Yea, Luci. We're never away from home apart."  
"Bet it was a bit ofa shock when she got put in Slytherin, huh?" Kmillen nodded again and turned onto his back to look at the ceiling.  
"I still love her though. It's just a misunderstanding." Kmillen didn't see Laird smiling in an almost mournful way and bowing his head, just heard his reply.  
"We should get ta breakfast." He muttered and Kmillen nodded before turning and getting his clothes "You gonna wake them two or should I?"  
"Your choice, man." Kmillen sighed.

The four of them walked down together, chatting to one another about their hobbies and interests and how cool the magical portraits were as the people in them waved and said hello. They walked into the Great Hall and were awestruck with how more beautiful and magical the place was in the daylight. Wayne lead them to a spot on the table with someone he recognised, and they laughed and joked and ate, though every action was groggy since they were all still very tired. Kmillen didn't notice his dear sister, sat so far away from everyone else.


End file.
